Presented by Catherine Campbell, Carol Young, Rachael Kirkham and Matt Russell
Reviewed 12 June 2015
Food Court Cabaret, directed by Lisa Lanzi and starring the talented Carol Young, Catherine Campbell, Rachael Kirkham and Matt Russell, is a food-lovers dream (or nightmare, if you’re hungry when you watch the show).
Food Court Cabaret celebrates the unique glitz and glamour of food courts, whether they be in Chinatown and serving up some scrumptious crispy squid, or in a hipster paradise of macrobiotic quinoa dishes. I won’t go as far as to say this show is “food-porn”, but I will admit to feeling just a little peckish afterwards.
Young, Campbell, Kirkham and Russell are all definitely having fun on stage, and it reflects in their performance. Russell’s recurring intermissions, in which he tells painfully awful food jokes, are made much funnier by the giggling of the rest of the cast.
While there isn’t much to the musical accompaniment (with only an electric keyboard to back up the singers) most of the songs are pretty well written. Pop-parodies like Katy Perry’s Roar, which becomes an ode to raw food diets, make for a good laugh. Just don’t go in expecting “high-class dining” so to speak, otherwise you may not appreciate the fine toilet-humour sprinkled throughout the performance.
While Food Court Cabaret is, of course, full of hilarious moments, I feel like most of the jokes are pretty over-played at this point. Yes, I get it; people like to take photos of their food at fancy restaurants, quinoa is a funny word and bacon tastes good. I’m sure if you’ve had access to the internet over the past decade you will have heard it all before.
Food Court Cabaret is a casual affair, a dinner best served with two or three friends and a cold beer. Even though it’s not the most spectacular meal on the menu, sometimes you just need a bit of naughty junk food to get you through all that serious gourmet nonsense!
Reviewed by James Rudd
Twitter: @james_wrr
Rating (out of 5): 3
Venue: La Boheme, 36 Grote St
Season: 12 – 20 June
Duration: 1 Hour
Tickets: $18.00 – $20.00
Bookings: Book online through the Adelaide Cabaret Fringe website http://www.cabaretfringefestival.com/food-court-cabaret/
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